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Monday, 29 May 2017

I am slowly going through some of my bookmarked recipes and starting to tick them off.Today, I share with you this Raw Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew Cream. This Raw Vegan Carrot Cake comes from Lorraine Pascale.

I have to be honest, I don't really do celebrity chefs, so when I first saw Lorraine Pascale on British TV. the first thought that came to me was, here we go again another model turned celebrity chef, but her approach was really different from all those domestic goddess wannabees. Lorraine Pascale gained popularity without the gimmicks. She really did win me over on her first cookery show and her down to earth honest approach, I have also come to have a much deeper respect for her as a person too.

Anyway, this Raw Vegan Carrot Cake was the first that I had bookmarked from her Eating Well Made Easy from Lorraine Pascale. The only change I have made to the recipe was the use of hazelnut, the original recipe uses walnuts and I did not have to pop this in the freezer, my fridge was plenty chilled.The recipe makes a generous cake, I took a lot of this Vegan Carrot Cake into work and gave around tasters. Everyone who had a piece was stunned first at the fact that it was completely raw, secondly that it was very much like baked carrot cake and lastly how Delicious it was, some even wanting a second piece. The only person who was not that crazy about it was my husband. He said. I will eat this, but raw cakes just don't excite me. Oh well, you cannot win everyone over.

For the recipe for Raw Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cashew Cram see here. Keep refrigerated.Eat within the week.

Friday, 26 May 2017

I am a little surprised as my greenhouse seedling specimens are not even the length of my hands and those that I picked up from a garden nursery have only just begun to flower. I guess other parts of the country, tomatoes are thriving under poly tunnels. Not in this part of Wales, where on days I am still wearing layers.

I had originally bookmarked to make Bloody Mary Jelly around the Christmas or New Year festivities, but then thought, what is wrong with now?! Oh and before you read any further, I must highlight that this Bloody Mary Jelly is made with a carton of tomato juice picked up for a different recipe, but never did and noted over the weekend that it was reaching its best before date.

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

I have to throw my hands up and admit that I have somewhat lost my blogging groove. At the same time I have also found myself uninspired in the kitchen, I am not begrudging this at all, in fact I am a little thankful for it as it has allowed me to both cook those bookmarked recipes as well as peruse cookbooks from my burgeoning bookshelf, to which I have to confess I have added some more cookbooks. For those of you who read my blog, will know that I went to the last Bristol Vegfest at the weekend. Whilst there, I picked up some vegan cookbooks including Kristy Turners But I could Never Go Vegan and But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan.

I had considered last year to put them both on my Christmas wish list, but then for some reason decided not to as I had other vegan and vegetarian cookbooks that I wanted more, but then when I saw both of them at the Vegfest. I was finally swayed to get the cookbook as my blogger friend Johanna who cooks much like I do at home, was making recipes on her blog and commenting, even fellow blogger Faye Veganopoulous was recommending it. Both Faye and Johanna have cooked extensively from them.That evening when I returned home after the Bristol Vegfest, feet up, sitting in front of the TV with a glass of wine and paging through the cookbook very slowly, I knew exactly what I wanted to make first. It was the s BBQ Cauliflower Salad , not only did it look delicious, I had most of the ingredients to hand.

The following day, this BBQ Cauliflower Salad was made. The salad is smothered with a vegan blue cheese dressing and some oven baked onion rings, but I found the BBQ Cauliflowersubstantial enough on its own and quite hearty lunch after a spell in the garden Sunday afternoon. It was quite easy to put together with ready made BBQ sauce.

The cookbooks have some vegan recipes that are new to me, especially those made with sauerkraut (as I never know what to do with the jars I bring at home), Jackfruit Crabless Cakes and the Savoury Corn Cheesecake but some not so much like Chickpea Scramble, Chickpea Fries, Faux Tofu Fish and Chips. I have been making my own and Tofu Fish and Chips inspired by Something Fishy that started their vegan fish and chips business in 2008 now almost 10 years later its appearing all over blogosphere and in cookbooks.

Monday, 22 May 2017

Today a little more as some plants have gone into the ground, but many plants are still in pots.Before I go further, I have to admit these photographs were taken last week before the rain came pouring down and much more has grown and sprouted since, including the weeds!

The climbing bean frames are finally up

Beneath these are climbing purple beans, the yellow beans and runner beans have not yet germinated, partly because the seeds were old and partly because I sowed them late, but I am hoping for some more. On the bean frame at the back are Climbing Alderman Peas.

Sunday, 21 May 2017

For the fourth year running, we went to Bristol Veg Festand yes, it rained. We still enjoyed the day.So many vegan food stalls were missing including, some favourites like Ms Vegan Cupcake, Lettices, Mheat, Loving Hut, The Happy Maki, Chai Wallah, and Vegetarian Caviar Club - I was a little disappointed as I have been wanting to get my mitts on some jars of vegan caviar for special meals.

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

I am thankful for the rain as the garden has been dry and wanting of water from the skies, but c'mon - enough already. I am hoping the weekend is dry as we have made some plans, so I guess I should really be saying bring it on now, but then please give us a break.

I made this Curly Kale and White Beans Soupover the weekend with what we had in the house as I wasn't feeling adventurous.

Its nothing special, yet variations of this Curly Kale and White Beans Souphas featured on many a blog and many a cookbook, but it made for a nice change from a smoother soup with its chunky vegetable and crinkly soft greens.

Friday, 12 May 2017

I don't know if he was just very hungry or being honest, but D complimented on how delicious this Harissa Butternut Squash Stew was, not once but twice with a Thank you Lady.

I thought it was going to one of those stews that would benefit from overnight rest in the fridge, but we had it within an hour of making it and it was most enjoyable. The harissa and the smoked paprika offset against each other wonderfully.

Be careful with the cooking of the vegetables, especially the broccoli towards the end, you do not want it really soft, but still with bite, otherwise it would be more bordering on soup than stew, which is not a bad thing, but sometimes you want texture not bambino food.

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

You may not be able to see the flecks of green, but I assure you there is some finely minced rosemary in these Savoury Sweet Potato Scones. Take a bite and you will not just taste it, but get a gentle waft of it.

I made these Savoury Sweet Potato Scones over the weekend to accompany a Stew and they worked very well, as these scones are a little on the dry side, but I guess that can be the nature of scones yearning for a spread of some sort to uplift it further. Another reason for making these scones was that I had some plant based milk in the fridge that needed using up.

And in case your wondering, why heart shaped?! Well, I could not find my round scone cutter, so had to use the closest size which was in the shape of a heart. I need more hearts in my life.

Saturday, 6 May 2017

Like the vegan and vegetarianmeatballs, I am having a thing about fudge at the moment.In recent days, I have made beetroot fudge, chocolate fudge and now these vegan tiger orange coloured Sweet Potato Fudge Bites with Cacao Nibs.

I went into the Carmarthen Market and picked up a bottle of Raspberry Vinegar. I know I will be making this come summer with homegrown raspberries, but I got tempted at the thought of homemade salad bowls dressed with raspberry.

I was rather surprised at the number of vegetarian places in Carmarthen, there were two as I recall someone once telling me that there were none, little fibber. There were also a couple of independent wholefood places including Aardvark Alternatives where I got this China Rose Radish Sprouts from; and Waverley Wholefoods, which I will write more about when I share photographs of our day exploring Carmarthen. I loved these sprouts, they added a lovely peppery bite.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

This prettily dressed up Hazelnut Swede Lemon Drenched Cake has come and gone in our home and while it lasted, it made every one who had a slice or a taste, first crinkle their noses and then purse their lips and nod their heads in approval. It was intriguing.

For my overseas readers, you may know Swede as Rutabaga. It is a vegetable that I avoid eating in savoury meals, I find it sweet like parsnips and don't often enjoy it, but hide it in a cake then it takes on a different flavour all together. I know it won't convince everybody, but all I can say is try it before you pass judgement.

I have to admit, at first I also was not sure sbout theHazelnut Swede Lemon Drenched Cake. I found it a little earthy on some bites, but as each day passed and I had another slice, I came to like it, really like it. It was unlike anything that I had ever eaten, which made it a delight. It also loved how the rosemary lemon syrup seeped beautifully into the hazelnut sponge. This cake can be made with eggs, or flaxseeds which will make it suitable for vegans or those who do not eat eggs. Oh did I mention its also gluten free too. I am sharing this with CookBlogShare hosted by Hijacked By Twins; andSimple and In Season hosted by Feeding Boys - even though Swede is a winter vegetable, you will still find it in the supermarkets springtime and Honest Mum for Brilliant Blog Posts.

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

I made this Turnip, Kale and White Bean Stew about a couple of months back , when we picked up some seasonal baby turnips from a farmers market.To be truthful, I wasn't terribly inspired and didn't know exactly what to do with the turnips so I took the easy option and adapted a stew recipe that I make on and off where you can adapt the vegetables.

It wasn't the most memorable meal of my life and not one I will rave about on my blog either, but it made for a change; and sometimes those recipes where you can throw the vegetables in the pot and allow it to simmer away slowly, are sometimes the most appealing.

Monday, 1 May 2017

Hello May! I'm looking forward to your #EatYourGreens submissions as its my turn to host the Eat Your Greens challenge this month. To participate, just post a vegan or vegetarian recipe that is made with green vegetables on your blog. Then leave the link to your recipe in the comment section below. The deadline is the 30th May 2017.

For more details Follow this link on how to participate just please remember to link back to the host page (this page) and co-host The VegHog. The use of the logo is optional, but appreciated.If you are Tweeting your recipe, please use #EatYoursGreens #eatyourgreens and include @SeasonalShaheen @TheVegHog and we will retweet all those that we see. If you want some Eat Your Greens inspiration, see what food bloggers from around the world shared in April , then check out my co-host The Veg Hog for inspiration.

About Me

est. 2008 a Welsh Not For Profit Blog: showing the versatility of vegetables and fruits by sharing and creating delicious platefuls of food inspired by the many diverse 'ethnic' world cuisines from sweet to savoury!
I have over 1500 vegetarian and vegan recipes. Please explore my culinary blog space with some honest random thoughts and things thrown in too.